Charles Barkley has revealed that he plans to sell his NBA MVP trophy and 1992 Olympic basketball team memorabilia to help build affordable housing. In an act of charity, all the funds from the sales will go to housing in his hometown, Leeds, Alabama. He revealed the news on WJOX 94.5, as USA Todaypoints out, expressing a desire to help out the community of his hometown.
"We probably got 30 eyesores, as I call them, where houses used to be when I was growing up. Either a rotted-out house or there's just weeds that have overgrown," Barkley explained. "So, what I'm trying to do—I want to work with the city of Leeds, I want them to give me the spaces, number one. I want them to give me the houses, and I'm going to use my own money selling my memorabilia."
There is one item from his time with the 1992 Dream Team that he plans to keep, however, and that's his Olympic gold medal. He said that his daughter wants it, but everything else will be up for grabs. "I want to do something really nice for Leeds," he continued. "And if I could build 10 to 20 affordable houses—I want to do green housing too—(and) if I could sell all that stuff, it would just be a really cool thing for me."
He added that a lot of the memorabilia has just been at his grandmother's house, and he isn't even that interested in keeping it around.
